Understanding how to influence people can be an incredible asset in your life and the life of your business. It is a fine balance between influencing and manipulation, which you do not want as your forte. In this snippet of an interview between Dale Beaumont and Michelle Bowden you will find top tips for influencing others in a positive and empowering way.
At 28, with a baby and a huge mortgage, Michelle opened her training business, with AMP as her first client. She is an accredited NLP practitioner and master trainer in presentation and influencing skills. She works with CEOs and their teams to help prepare them for presentations at company meetings, conferences and sales pitches.
What are your top tips for influencing others in a positive and empowering way?
Rapport, rapport, rapport! Before you can influence others you must build rapport with them. My advice is to:
- Understand the person’s personality filters – the way they experience, respond to and manage their environment.
- Make a plan – what do you want to achieve?
- Use pacing and leading – pacing involves being like your audience in your dress, body language, eye contact, vocal variety, style, language, interests and attitudes. Some people call this matching or mirroring. Leading is taking the audience where you want them to go. Your audience won’t follow you or give you permission to lead them unless they feel an affiliation with you. You really can’t ask for anything until you have first built rapport.
- Show them what’s in it for them to change – we know this as the WIIFM or ‘what’s in it for me’.
- Cialdini’s influence patterns help you identify the other strategies to use – for more information I recommend you read Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini.
For more of this interview and how to influence people tips check out “Secrets of Top Business Builders Exposed!“
